Posted on 06/17/2006 4:53:48 AM PDT by radar101
A day after Homeland Security officials denied knowing about former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham's attempts to gain a contract for a limousine service, Cunningham's letter praising the company surfaced in the department's files.
In the letter, Cunningham wrote of his “full support of (Shirlington Limousine's) wish to provide transportation services for the Department of Homeland Security,” or DHS.
FBI agents have been investigating whether the company – while working for Brent Wilkes, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Cunningham corruption case – helped Wilkes arrange for prostitutes for Cunningham while Wilkes was vying for federal contracts.
Wilkes and Shirlington founder Christopher Baker have denied any involvement with prostitutes. But Baker has said through his lawyer that he provided transportation for “entertainment” at Wilkes' hospitality suites in Washington from 1990 to the early part of the decade.
At a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee on Thursday, it was revealed that Baker has been testifying before a grand jury. The committee is probing whether Cunningham pressured Homeland Security to give Shirlington a contract.
Although Baker is a convicted felon, Cunningham gave him a character reference Jan. 16, 2004.
“I have personally known Mr. Baker since the mid-1990s,” Cunningham wrote to Homeland Security. “He is dedicated to his work and has been of service to me and other Members of Congress over the years.”
At the time, the department had no plans to hire a limousine service. But within three months, the department gave Baker a $3.8 million contract. A year later, he got a contract worth up to $21.2 million.
Until recently, Homeland Security officials have denied that any legislators were involved in the contract. In May, department officials twice told Congress that they had no record of Cunningham's letter.
On Thursday, however, Baker gave Congress a sworn affidavit that he had sent the letter to the department. Homeland Security officials said they found an e-mail mentioning the letter but had no other evidence of its existence.
Yesterday the department produced the letter, saying it had been misfiled.
“This is yet another example of DHS incompetence – and I think it may have been more than just bad record-keeping,” said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who leads the House Homeland Security Committee. “This letter certainly . . . raises further questions about political manipulation in the contracting process.”
Intresting how unsubstatiated accusations, rumor and hearsay are now "NEWS" as long as the accused is a Republican.
What is this "early part of the decade" stuff. They can't pinpoint a year?
Well this is the same "freeper" who posts article from Commie websites. I guess we should not expect little things like accuracy or intellectual honesty get in the way of his latest attack line.
LOL. Workers' World. Great source of information there.
This certainly seems like a nothing story.
Seems very news worthy to me.
Are you suggesting that the discovery of the letter has no news value or that DHS isn't riddled with incompetence or both?
But what's news here?
We knew that Cunningham was a crook. We knew that DHS is incompetent. There's nothing new in this.
The story isn't about Cunningham. It's about others with connections to Cunningham and his contacts within the DHS.
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